Former officer acquitted of assault in 2020 encounter with racial injustice protester in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former Philadelphia police inspector has been acquitted of using a baton during a confrontation with a demonstrator at a 2020 racial injustice demonstration.

Jurors on Wednesday acquitted Joseph Bologna, 57, of simple assault and possession of an instrument of crime in the incident captured on video during the June 2020 protests on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway following the death of George Floyd, the philadelphia enquirer informed of,

Defense attorney Fortunato Peri Jr. told jurors during closing arguments that his client’s life has been a “nightmare” in the past three and a half years since his arrest. He cited the city police code section, saying the use of force is justified when a person resists arrest or threatens physical harm. He also said that the then-21-year-old Temple University student had tried to interfere in another arrest, so the decision by Bologna to strike was a “swift decision” in a “rapidly evolving” situation.

Perry said a medical examination found that the protester was never directly struck in the head with the baton. He said the internal affairs investigation found no evidence of departmental violations on the part of the officer.

Bologna was fired after video of the encounter circulated widely on social media and other reports emerged about his actions during the unrest.

The Inquirer reported that before deliberations began, the prosecution and defense agreed that the city medical examiner’s testimony would have told jurors that the man was struck in the upper back, not the head. , and his bloody wound came from the officer’s bike helmet. ,

Prosecutors argued that the use of force was not typical, pointing to testimony from a former Utah officer-turned-researcher and teacher who said the protester was in no position to harm the officer when he attacked him.

Bologna was originally charged with multiple counts, including aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, but a judge dismissed the charges in 2021. Another judge later reinstated the two cases that had been tried in Bologna.

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